Need help from Luthier with floating trem knowledge

[Anthony76]

I’ll say it again, contact Friedman support, they may help you out if possible. If you start messing with it there is no chance they’ll help you out.

 

[USMC_Trev]

The nut appears to be aligned. I’ll loosen the neck pocket today to see if it can be tweaked

I’ll say it again, contact Friedman support, they may help you out if possible. If you start messing with it there is no chance they’ll help you out.

if the OP is going to insist on doing it himself and is able to adjust the neck, it’s a guaranteed fact that it will move again.
“No chance they’ll help you out” is a bit hyperbolic. I kinda doubt they’ll refuse to set a neck for an out of warranty guitar if it’s sent to them for a fair quote. The question is why bother with Friedman ifffen you have a good guitar tech in the area who also participates in the free market economy by taking money in exchange for services rendered.

Here endeth my shop local pitch.

 

[USMC_Trev]

True! but an improperly set nut would be pretty obvious especially if it's a locking nut which is what is on this guitar if I'm not mistaking as it would be hanging off of the neck to one side. It's really hard to tell as we cant see the whole neck in the pic.

After I posted I also realized that the neck pickup is not F spaced. Another thing to consider as hard as it would be to believe is the bridge posts could have been placed in the wrong spot on the body. If you look at the very end of the neck where the strings cross over, all of the strings are moved to the right. Again we cannot see the whole neck to look at the strings how they track all the way down the neck but using this as a reference it would appear like a bridge problem.

All speculation of course the first thing to be done is to find out if the neck is set in the pocket correctly. Time for the OP to break out some frog tape and a ruler and do some investigating.

I would find it very hard to believe that, custom hand made or not, that they’d not have a simple pattern layout stencil to mark the routing and center punch the bridge pivot holes, pickguard screw holes, knob holes and everything else after laminating the top/gluing the book match (or whatever the design is gonna be).

My $5 is on the neck moved.

 

[Marantz]

Along the same lines as the OP, the G string is off center on the saddle here. I just purchased this Standard Fender Bridge ( $35 ) and dropped it into my Yamaha Pacifica. It doesn't feel or sound different, I'm wondering if I can just use the guitar with the g string sitting as it is? Is there any problem about this position?

On an unrelated note, can you float a 6 screw bridge?

 

[mr_fender]

Your G string saddle is tilted causing the string to slide to the low side when tuned up. One of the height adjust screws is higher than the other. Set them both to the same height to keep the saddle flat relative to the neck curvature and downward tension.

Yes, a 6 screw trem can definitely be floated. Floating is the stock setup. Don't tighten the 6 mounting screws down all the way and loosen the Trem spring claw screws in the back and re-tune until you get the amount of float you want.

 

[RevDrucifer]

Along the same lines as the OP, the G string is off center on the saddle here. I just purchased this Standard Fender Bridge ( $35 ) and dropped it into my Yamaha Pacifica. It doesn't feel or sound different, I'm wondering if I can just use the guitar with the g string sitting as it is? Is there any problem about this position?

On an unrelated note, can you float a 6 screw bridge?


View attachment 111704

mr_fender is indeed correct, if you level the saddle it'll sit in the middle better. You can definitely float it but you'll most likely want to take some extra steps to avoid tuning issues, namely getting some kind of graphite for the nut or even replacing it. I do both, a Tusq self-lubricating nut and Music Nomad's Tune It on the nut and string trees and I can dive bomb on the trems with little tuning issues. I only float mine about 1/8" because I just want enough travel for using the bar for vibrato, I have Ibanez stuff for crazy whammy bar theatrics.

 

[Marantz]

mr_fender is indeed correct, if you level the saddle it'll sit in the middle better. You can definitely float it but you'll most likely want to take some extra steps to avoid tuning issues, namely getting some kind of graphite for the nut or even replacing it. I do both, a Tusq self-lubricating nut and Music Nomad's Tune It on the nut and string trees and I can dive bomb on the trems with little tuning issues. I only float mine about 1/8" because I just want enough travel for using the bar for vibrato, I have Ibanez stuff for crazy whammy bar theatrics.

Thanks for the response, I'll give it a shot.

 

[Marantz]

Your G string saddle is tilted causing the string to slide to the low side when tuned up. One of the height adjust screws is higher than the other. Set them both to the same height to keep the saddle flat relative to the neck curvature and downward tension.

Yes, a 6 screw trem can definitely be floated. Floating is the stock setup. Don't tighten the 6 mounting screws down all the way and loosen the Trem spring claw screws in the back and re-tune until you get the amount of float you want

One of the height adjustment screws is higher than the other indeed, it's the Right One ( from a photo perspective ) meaning I'm trying to correct for the error ... it didn't work. You can clearly see the right adjustment screw is a few threads elevated from the left one.

 

[frankencat]

Normally this is a simple fix for any decent tech but if not then call Dave. He is great and usually answers emails within a day.

 

[JoKeR III]

One of the height adjustment screws is higher than the other indeed, it's the Right One ( from a photo perspective ) meaning I'm trying to correct for the error ... it didn't work. You can clearly see the right adjustment screw is a few threads elevated from the left one.

You need to turn the right screw in to match the left screw, raising the right side of the saddle, to keep the string from slipping to the right (as in photo).

 

[mr_fender]

This ↑. Clockwise (tighten) raises that side of the saddle, counter-clockwise (loosen) lowers that side of the saddle. You need to either tighten the right screw (treble side) or loosen the left screw (bass side) until the top of the saddle is back parallel with the bridge plate. If the string is then too high or too low relative to the frets, you will need to adjust both screws by equal turns either up or down to get the string action you want.

 

[Greg Ferguson]

I would find it very hard to believe that, custom hand made or not, that they’d not have a simple pattern layout stencil to mark the routing and center punch the bridge pivot holes, pickguard screw holes, knob holes and everything else after laminating the top/gluing the book match (or whatever the design is gonna be).

My $5 is on the neck moved.

Well, a real life example of that going wrong, is that Martin had a gauge to measure where the bridge should go that they used for years, and, over the years it had wear and tear and slowly shifted until, in the late 60s, it was significantly off.

My ‘69 D-35, like many others, suffered from that problem, a bridge that was off. You will find a huge number of Martins from that era that needed their bridges moved.

 

[StuntGuitar]

Well, a real life example of that going wrong, is that Martin had a gauge to measure where the bridge should go that they used for years, and, over the years it had wear and tear and slowly shifted until, in the late 60s, it was significantly off.

My ‘69 D-35, like many others, suffered from that problem, a bridge that was off. You will find a huge number of Martins from that era that needed their bridges moved.

not to derail this thread i have not heard of this. this faulty jig era you mention - when exactly did that era end? my reply seeks only that answer. do you know? is my 1975 d-35 safe? a quick search before replying brought a handful other stories on this with 1 regarding a 1974 d-28. a martin-referred fretworks in chicago reset the neck on mine approx 3yrs ago (a wonderful job i might add; it sounds glorius!) . i may have to give them a call to see if they compensate/correct for that kind of thing if exists? a longtime martin ambassador this would be the very 1st discomforting concern (for lack of a better term) that's ever surfaced with the company/guitar for me, thank you very much. see what you've done.

 

[Tremonti]

It isn't the nut and don't file saddle!! If guitar always that way, it may be an incorrect drilling placement of bridge too. But neck shift could be also the answer. BTW, did I mention DO NOT FILE THE SADDLE??

Doweling of neck holes and then redrill would resolve issue if neck shifted.

 

[Greg Ferguson]

not to derail this thread i have not heard of this. this faulty jig era you mention - when exactly did that era end? my reply seeks only that answer. do you know? is my 1975 d-35 safe? a quick search before replying brought a handful other stories on this with 1 regarding a 1974 d-28. a martin-referred fretworks in chicago reset the neck on mine approx 3yrs ago (a wonderful job i might add; it sounds glorius!) . i may have to give them a call to see if they compensate/correct for that kind of thing if exists? a longtime martin ambassador this would be the very 1st discomforting concern (for lack of a better term) that's ever surfaced with the company/guitar for me, thank you very much. see what you've done.

I don’t know when it ended.

The guy who takes care of my D-35 told me about the problem and that it’d affected my guitar. I was complaining that it wasn’t in tune at the 12th fret, he dug around and found out about the problem. Martin was trying to rush guitars out of the factory and got sloppy. A second problem is that many also need a neck reset.

The typical fix for the first is to move the bridge to get the saddle where it belongs. I told him no-way, because it is in excellent condition, he thought about it a while and came up with a very innovative solution. Contact John Bronson at https://www.bronsonguitarworks.com/ and he can explain the details. He did an amazing job that didn’t require moving the bridge or resetting the neck.

When he was done I had him do a Buzz Feiten Tuning System on it so it’s in tune up the entire neck, and kept the original parts so it can easily be returned to the original condition if I sell it.

https://umgf.com/70s-d28-misplaced-bridges-t203621-s20.html and

 

[Marantz]

You need to turn the right screw in to match the left screw, raising the right side of the saddle, to keep the string from slipping to the right (as in photo).

Good Lord I must have been drinking when I posted that. Duhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I just raised the right side screw by a lot, I had a feeling it wouldn't do anything because the saddles are off on this Bridge. I'm not sure why, all the screw holes lined up perfectly when I put it in. I'm going to try something later which I wouldn't do on an expensive guitar. lol.

 

[Tahoebrian5]

I received confirmation that it’s still under warranty so looks like I’m sending it in.

 

[Musikron]

Man just loosen the neck bolts a turn, pull the headstock from the treble side a little bit until the strings are even, then tighten everything back down. It's literally gonna take you longer to go get a screwdriver. It took me longer to compose this post. Your over thinking things by a LOT.

 

[scottp]

@Tahoebrian5 For grins, can you post a picture of the nut from overhead?

 

[JoKeR III]

Man just loosen the neck bolts a turn, pull the headstock from the treble side a little bit until the strings are even, then tighten everything back down. It's literally gonna take you longer to go get a screwdriver. It took me longer to compose this post. Your over thinking things by a LOT.

Everyone's different. He's more comfortable sending it in, under warranty, than attempting something that would void the warranty if something goes wrong. I've done the very thing you're suggesting and while it is simple, I wouldn't suggest it or do it on a guitar that's still backed by the builder.